The Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, who died Tuesday aged 64 at Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire.
Photograph: Grosvenor Estate/PA

One of Britain’s richest men and most influential landlords, the Duke of Westminster, has died at the age of 64.

Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, who owned swathes of prime real estate in London’s Mayfair and Belgravia districts and occupied a key role in the city’s property market, died on Tuesday afternoon at the Royal Preston hospital in Lancashire. A spokeswoman for his estate said he had become ill suddenly on his Abbeystead estate.

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The duke, whose Grosvenor property company traces its roots back to the 17th century, heavily invested in London property and owned large amounts of commercial and residential space in some of the city’s most expensive areas. His company also has substantial holdings in Scotland and continental Europe.

His wealth was given as £9.35bn in this year’s Sunday Times rich list, which put him in sixth place following an increase in his fortune.

Grosvenor was reported to have added £37.7m to his wealth last year as his property empire paid its first dividend since 2010.

However, he was believed to have been hit by a global stock market rout in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union which led to the UK’s 15 richest individuals losing £4bn during the day.

The duke, whose company has since warned that the Brexit vote has “chilled” investor interest in London, led the decline with a loss of £727m, according to Bloomberg’s billionaire index.

Born in 1951 in Omagh, County Tyrone, he left Harrow with two O-levels and later joined the Territorial Army before attending the military academy at Sandhurst and working his way up to the rank of general.

His father was a former Ulster Unionist MP for the constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone. While Grosvenor himself had been a member of the Conservative party, he left during the 1990s in protest at the party’s policy on changing Britain’s leasehold system.

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A close friend of Prince Charles, he was godfather to Prince William while one of his four children, Hugh Grosvenor, is a godfather to Prince George. The same son is in line to inherit his dukedom.

A spokesperson for the Grosvenor Estate said: “It is with the greatest sadness that we can confirm that the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor (64) died this afternoon at Royal Preston hospital.

“He was taken there from the Abbeystead estate in Lancashire where he had suddenly been taken ill. His family are all aware and they ask for privacy and understanding at this very difficult time.”